'Potentially unfair': Auckland Transport Hop card terms changed after Commerce Commission review

The Commerce Commission launched its probe to test the HOP card's compliance with the Fair Trading Act after complaints from the public.

Auckland Transport has changed more than 20 terms and conditions for its public transport Hop card after a Commerce Commission review found some were "potentially unfair".

The commission tested the Hop card's compliance with the Fair Trading Act after public complaints.

"Our review identified a number of issues in the terms of use which we considered to be potentially unfair to consumers," commissioner Anna Rawlings said this morning.

"Examples included terms limiting the validity period of unused cards, allowing variation of the terms of use for the card without notice, limiting the right to obtain a refund or transfer of unused credit for non-registered cards, and explanations of the consequences of not tagging off," Rawlings said.

Auckland Transport has changed more than 20 of its terms and conditions - extending the validity period of unused AT Hop cards from two to six years and limiting the blocking of cards in cases where passengers repeatedly fail to tag off.

"Since the changes were implemented, we have noticed a significant drop in the number of complaints we are receiving about the cards," Rawlings said.

At the end of last year, Auckland Transport decided to automatically reverse payments of online top-ups for unused cards to the credit or debit card used for the payment, the commission said.

That particular issue had previously sparked a number of complaints, the commission said.

The commission also reviewed the terms of use for Wellington's Snapper Services card and Canterbury's Metrocard.

Snapper has changed some of its clauses as a result and Metrocard's term and conditions are also being updated.